To help his grip against the chill, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning wore gloves. To help keep his sore right ankle pain free, the Broncos put running the ball into their game plan.

With a sellout crowd and a national television audience looking on Sunday night, Manning's gloved hand and two short touchdown runs by rookie Montee Ball gave the Broncos a 27-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

"The (offensive) line deserves a lot of credit," said Broncos interim coach Jack Del Rio. "They were under fire all week because Peyton got hit quite a bit (in San Diego). But they responded, and I was proud of them."

This was an AFC West showdown between teams with a combined 17-1 record.

The Chiefs entered the game 9-0 and boasted the NFL's No. 1-ranked scoring defense. They had not allowed more than 17 points in any game. The Broncos were 8-1 with an offense averaging a league-best 41.2 points per game.

The Broncos' offensive line kept one of the league's best pass rushing defenses from getting to Manning.

"Our protection was great the entire game," Manning said. "To go sackless against the leading sack defense in the NFL, that's a great testament to those guys."

One of the stars was left offensive tackle Chris Clark, who received a game ball for keeping Tamba Hali off Manning. "Any time you're playing against a great pass rushing team, you want to establish the running game," Clark said.

It was the second game the Broncos played since head coach John Fox underwent heart surgery. Fox watched the game Sunday night from his Charlotte, N.C., home while defensive coordinator Del Rio again served as the team's interim coach.

As this season has moved along, the Thomases are separating themselves as Peyton's Pets. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has been a 6-foot-3, 230-pound mismatch nightmare for cornerbacks going back to the abbreviated Tim Tebow era. Tight end Julius Thomas emerged this season as a 6-5, 250-pound threat who can both post up in the lane and run the floor. The NFL doesn't make safeties or linebackers who can guard such a force.

Peyton Manning yells out a call from the from the line of scrimmage in the first quarter. More photos. (The Denver Post)

As the Broncos took a 17-10 lead into halftime, it was Manning's passes to the Thomases that set up the two first-half touchdowns.

The Chiefs' touted defense came out daring Manning to beat them deep. Their cornerbacks played the Broncos' receivers at the line of scrimmage, and their two safeties played shallow. It took one Peyton pop to loosen them up.

On third-and-5 from his own 21, Manning threw a beautiful deep ball down the right sideline. Demaryius Thomas got a step past rookie corner Marcus Cooper and caught the ball in stride for a 70-yard gain. One play later, Manning hit Julius Thomas on a slash to the end zone for a 9-yard score, his 10th touchdown reception giving the Broncos a 10-0 lead. Shannon Sharpe, the best tight end in Broncos history and a Hall of Famer, never had more than 10 touchdown catches in a season.

"I thought D.T.'s 'go' route really set the tone," Manning said.

After Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith answered early in the second quarter with a touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe, Manning again led the Broncos on a 79-yard scoring drive. And, again, long completions to the Thomases keyed the drive.

Manning hit Demaryius Thomas for 11 and 29 yards and Julius Thomas down the right seam for 20. The drive ended with rookie Ball, who fumbled earlier in the game, spinning in for a 1-yard touchdown.

The Broncos were up 17-7, but again Smith steadily led the Chiefs on a time-consuming march until they had a first-and-goal advantage at the 2.

Knowshon Moreno (27) leaps over Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) after Thomas' touchdown in the first quarter. More photos. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Running play left. Run up the middle. Running play right. Denver's defense stacked up all three runs — and the Chiefs settled for a short field goal. The Broncos were still up 17-10, but on their next four possessions, Manning's offense left the field frustrated.

Late in the third quarter, though, Manning found another of his talented receivers, Eric Decker, for a 33-yard gain on a third-and-short play.

The drive ended with another Ball touchdown run, this time around right end. At that point, the Broncos were up 24-10 with 86 yards rushing on 27 attempts. Not exactly the most efficient running attack in the NFL, but it had a greater purpose.

All of that running kept the Chiefs' talented pass rushers on hold — Manning was not sacked during the game.

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